Making some changes to my generator's appearance
#201
08-11-2008, 04:49 AM
Starting it up and shutting it down is no big deal. I am capable of walking outside my truck to start it. I'm not that lazy.
#202
08-11-2008, 06:30 AM
Just keep in mind that air cooled engines work best when the air around them is cooler than the engine, so the more the air flow the better it will run better, and last longer.
Lets use a VW for example, these engine draw air from above the hood, and a belt driven fan forced the air past the cyl heads and jugs, and later one the oil cooler also. These engines would run forever, because they are forcing the cooler air past the hot areas of the engine. You have a closed box (insulated) and are drawing air into the box, but heat remains in the box unless you have a fan that removes almost all of the heat. The fan you have is designed to flow air through a radiator, and not powerful enough to remove the heat from a box. I would add a squirrel cage fan and run a duct to the intake side of the fan that cools you engine. (Does it have a fan?), so the air that comes into your box has to blow past the hot engine parts. If there is no self cooling fan on the genset then you should put another fan that brings cold air in and keep the one that pushes the hot air out. Keep it as cool as possible, one or two overheats will ruin your unit.
#203
08-11-2008, 03:28 PM
This probably doesn't interest you but I saw one guy today that had a box like you have but the sides and top were made of grating and he had a custom fitted tarp that covered the box when he wasn't using it. When he got done using his generator he went out and shut it off, pulled the tarp down and snapped it into place using snaps that were on the tarp and box. Looked neat anyway.
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#204
08-12-2008, 12:31 AM
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The other side of the coin
Posts: 9,368
The fact that more and more people are coming up with alternatives to buying APU's says a lot about the fact that they just cost way too much.
#205
08-13-2008, 04:57 PM
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The other side of the coin
Posts: 9,368
Picked up the Honda generator today. The diesel generator came out a lot easier than I expected. That little Honda seems so small inside that box. I fired it up (no pun intended) and closed the lid, and it is definitely quiet enough now.
This generator doesn't have a 12V output, so I am hard wiring a 10 amp 12V battery charger to the system. That will give me the 5.8 amps I need to run the radiator fan, and an additional 4.2 amps for charging my batteries. I was going to put a constant 15 amp 12V converter on it, but decided against it because I didn't want my batteries to get overcharged. The battery charger will only deliver the charge needed. I will be running it through my cutoff switch, so that I can quickly disconnect the power to my batteries if needed. The only other thing I am planning to do at this point is adding a small exhaust pipe to route the exhaust outside the box. I'll run the generator this way for a while, and if it performs well, I will add the auxiliary fuel tank. It will be a PITA filling it up more often, but if it doesn't work, then I won't have the additional $100 invested in the extra fuel tank. At this point, the only major concern I have is keeping enough air flow inside the box to keep the generator cool enough. If need be, I have enough room now that I can add an additional fan to draw air out of the box.
#206
08-13-2008, 07:51 PM
Most of those in the Rv world who have successfully built enclosures for portable gens have used two fans like Doghouse suggests. Another idea is mounting the gen on a slide-out tray, sliding it out of the box just enough to get air and let exhaust escape. A company called kwikee makes the sliding mounts.
http://www.kwikee.com/index.html How large is the fuel tank on your Honda?
#207
08-13-2008, 07:57 PM
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The other side of the coin
Posts: 9,368
Originally Posted by Red Clay Rambler
How large is the fuel tank on your Honda? Putting a sliding tray in would require building a different box. That isn't going to happen. I'll be running it for a few hours tomorrow, and taking temp readings to see how it does with the single fan. I know that the fan pushes a lot of air out the vent holes, so I'm hoping it will do fine for removing the heat from the box.
#208
08-14-2008, 12:43 PM
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: The other side of the coin
Posts: 9,368
Generator is done.
I bought a really nice charger last night, which I hard wired into the system. It has a setting specifically for my type of batteries, and will charge at either 2 amps, 10 amps, 20 amps, or a 60 amp engine start. That should have me set for anything the winter can throw at me.  I ran the generator power through the existing outlets I had in the truck, so I have two breakers - one on the generator, and one in the truck.  The generator is so small inside the box, but in a way that is a good thing, because it is getting better air flow now. I ran it for a half hour on full load, and couldn't get the temp inside the box above 101 degrees. The engine was running at 120 degrees.  I am inside the truck right now with it running. I can't feel it at all, and can barely hear it. In fact, the only time I really hear anything at all is when the AC kicks in (which is every 5 minutes or so). It takes about 1 minute at full load, and then the generator goes back down to 1/2 load. I added an exhaust hose, routed to the same place the old one was. The noise level outside is excellent. I'm parked next to a truck with a Rigmaster running, and I can still hear the Rigmaster with mine running. In fact, the loudest part of the system is the cooling fan.  And just to be safe, I bought a new fire extinguisher, and mounted it next to the driver's seat. 
#209
08-14-2008, 04:03 PM
Originally Posted by Rev.Vassago
Originally Posted by mike3fan
I seen you post the regs on having a gas gen before,is there any problems with having one on the truck? and the aux fuel tank?
The auxiliary fuel tank has to be mounted "in a workmanlike manner". That means it needs to be secured properly. That will be no problem, since I tend to over-secure things I attach to my truck. I'm thinking I will put it up on the deck plate, right behind the sleeper (where my air line box is). I'm not sure yet, but I may have a fuel tank built. The DOT regulations state that you can haul 8 gallons of gasoline without being required to placard. It just so happens that all the fuel tanks I've been looking at today were just barely over 8 gallons.... IMHO, it isn't 100% legal, but everyone I've ever heard of who has a gas generator on their truck hasn't been hassled by DOT, since most DOT cops don't know the regs themselves. At this point, I just see it as being the best solution. I want to keep this system from getting overly complex. The less there is, the less there is to go wrong. :lol: On a side note, the really awesome Xantrex inverter system I had in my truck took a dump about a month or so ago. The plug on top of the inverter where the remote switch plugged in got corroded, and 2 of the pins sheared off. I dug into the inverter (which was darn near impossible to get into), and found that it is going to be pretty much impossible to repair this, as the pins in the connector plug were soldered directly to the circuit board. So today I cut the power cable that went from the inverter to the breaker box. I am going to put a junction box in, and run that power cable into it. I'll then run a cable from the generator into the junction box, so I can use the already-installed outlets that are inside the truck for power, rather than having to run an extension cord and power strip. At least I was able to salvage something from the system. It's really a shame. I loved that inverter system. But with a price tag of over $1500, it's not something I really wanted to replace. I may end up putting a 1000 watt inverter into the truck (so I don't have to run that 400 watt inverter for my laptop), but for now I'm going to leave it as is. I haven't decided yet if I will put another Optima in the empty space I just created in my battery box. |
